1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a photographic printing apparatus which effects printing on a continuous photographic paper. The present invention also pertains to a photographic paper feeder employed in this photographic printing apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
One type of photographic printing apparatus which employs a continuous photographic paper has recently been proposed in order to effect an automatic photographic printing operation. This type of photographic printing apparatus is arranged such that a photographic paper which has previously been wound in layers is loaded on a supply spool and is then fed out while being guided by flanged guide rollers so as to be transported to the printing section where the image of a negative film is printed on a predetermined portion of the photographic paper, which is then wound up onto a take-up spool.
When the photographic paper is unwound from the supply spool, the lateral movement of the paper is restricted by the flange projecting from the supply spool. In the course of transportation of the photographic paper from the supply spool to the printing section, the lateral movement of the paper is restricted by the flanges of the guide rollers. After a printing operation, the photographic paper is transported to the take-up spool with its lateral movement restricted by guide blocks.
It is, however, necessary for photographic printing to selectively employ photographic papers with different widths in accordance with the size of the image to be printed. For this reason, the above flanges and the like are provided on the spools, the guide rollers and the like so that the widest photographic paper that will be used can be smoothly and accurately transported. As a result, when a photographic paper with a relatively small width is fed in, the lateral movement of the paper cannot sufficiently be restricted, so that the paper may meander or move in a zigzag direction, which makes it impossible for the photographic paper to be fed to an appropriate position or wound up correctly.